


Celandine

by theartistprince



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Better get the floss out because this is overwhelmingly fluffy, F/M, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-06
Updated: 2013-04-06
Packaged: 2017-12-07 16:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/750647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theartistprince/pseuds/theartistprince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last thing Cosette expected when she opened her floral shop that morning was to meet a man who loved flowers just as much as she did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Celandine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nyxierose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyxierose/gifts).



> So, a few days ago, alifeworthhaving/Nyxierose left me a prompt. This was the result.
> 
> That prompt was: Cosette/Jehan, Cosette is a florist.

Cosette had always wanted to be a florist.  

 

How could she not?  Flowers offered so much beauty to the world.  Even when her life was lonely and dark, flowers offered her a splash of colour to her otherwise drab existence.

 

After learning of her love for flowers, Cosette’s foster father, Jean Valjean, made it his life’s passion to shower the young girl with more flowers than she could handle.  Their house would always be littered with lilacs, daisies and tulips.  Once Cosette reached twelve, Valjean offered her the garden to plant as many flowers as she wanted.

 

In a few short years, there barely any grass was visible.

 

It came as no surprise to Valjean that after graduating university, Cosette came to him, almost begging him to co-sign a loan so she could open her own floral shop in the heart of the Latin Quarter.  There was a void to fill in the neighbourhood of Saint-Michel and Cosette was determined to make sure it was full of flowers.

 

Though her passion for nature was bold and unyielding, she lived a quiet life.  Trigger shy from mistreatment in her youth, Cosette was satisfied with what she had.  Sure, she longed for far off destinations and a large rag-tag group of friends like any twenty-five year old young woman, but she was satisfied nonetheless.

 

The only thing that Cosette ever truly found herself longing for was love.

  
-

 

“Spring is finally here!” Cosette exclaimed with a twirl as she approached Éponine, her one and only employee.  Despite the years of tension between them, Cosette knew it was only right to offer Éponine a job when her former step-sister was nearing destitution.  After all, though Éponine and Azelma were cruel to her in childhood, Gavroche and the youngest two Thénardiers had nothing to do with that. She couldn't punish them for events that were better left in the past.

 

Cosette found rather quickly that Éponine had changed from that selfish girl she knew in her childhood.  Years of abuse and poverty had left its mark on Éponine and Cosette decided to do everything in her power to make every day a little brighter for her former rival.

 

Éponine quirked an eyebrow and looked up at the clear sky.  “It’s about time, too,” Éponine commented before helping Cosette to lift the gate that protected the store overnight.  “Though I hear it’s supposed to rain.”

 

“You like the rain,” Cosette countered before unlocking the door and strolling into the shop.  

 

Éponine merely answered with a shrug and followed Cosette.  

 

The first thing that Cosette does every morning, without fail, is turn on the radio.  Even on the gloomiest day, the shop would be filled with the most melodic sounds Cosette could get her hands on.  Even though Éponine would always grumble and insist that she’d rather listen to some lo-fi post-punk or whatever she happened to be obsessed with on that particular day, Cosette would reply that the sad music would make the flowers wilt.  

 

“Combeferre’s coming in later today,” Éponine mentioned in a voice that was trying too hard to be casual.

 

Cosette couldn’t help her squeal of delight.  Éponine had been seeing the mysterious Combeferre for a few weeks and everything seemed to be falling into place.  Éponine assured Cosette that Combeferre was drastically unlike any of Éponine’s previous boyfriends, who would use her then throw her to the curb within a few months. 

 

As Éponine was the closest thing that Cosette had to a best friend (and, though Éponine would never admit it, vice-versa), Cosette couldn’t wait to meet him.

 

The small bell above the door rang, causing Éponine and Cosette to pause in their conversations.  A tall, sandy-haired man with wired spectacles perched on his face beamed as his eyes fell on Éponine.  Cosette watched in amusement as Éponine struggled to maintain her composure, despite the large smile that was threatening to cross her face.

 

“You must be Combeferre!”  Cosette exclaimed, reaching across the desk to shake the man’s hand.  

 

Combeferre was able to pry his eyes off of Éponine long enough to give Cosette a polite smile and shake her hand.  “Guilty,” he said lightly before waving to the man over his shoulder.  “This is my friend, Jean Prouvaire.”

 

Behind Combeferre stood a slightly shorter man, dressed almost garishly in clashing floral patterns with a pair of loafers that he seemed to have doodled on in white out.  His blond hair rivalled Cosette’s in terms of loveliness, cascading around his shoulders in loose waves.  He offered Cosette a shy smile before reaching over to clasp her hand.  

 

Cosette’s breath hitched as the soft hand wrapped around hers.  It was far more delicate than Combeferre’s with long fingers and a broad palm.  Blue and black pen-marks littered both sides of his hand and a small callous from his thumb told Cosette that he was a writer of some sort.

 

“Everyone just calls me Jehan,” he corrected, lifting Cosette’s hand to his lips.  Instead of shaking her hand like Combeferre had, Jehan placed a soft kiss on the top of her hand before blushing scarlet and dropping it unceremoniously. 

 

Cosette felt her face heat up and quickly turned to Éponine for help, though was met with the sight her friend with her arms looped around her boyfriend’s (despite what Éponine said, this man was clearly her boyfriend) neck, smiling serenely up at him.

 

Jehan cleared his throat softly, drawing Cosette’s attention back to him.  The flush that had graced his cheeks was waning.  “These are some beautiful daffodils you have here,” Jehan commented, waving towards a bucket that was overflowing with the happy yellow flowers.

 

Cosette smiled brightly.  “Oh yes, but daffodils are always beautiful!  They’re my absolute favourites,” Cosette said in a mock whisper.  “Because-”

 

“Because they’re the first to come up,” Jehan finished, grinning.  He bent down to the bucket and plucked four blooms and placed them on the counter.  “May I buy these?”

 

Cosette was slightly taken aback at his request.  For a moment, she forgot that she was working.  “Of course!”  Cosette replied quickly, punching some numbers into the cash register.  “For your girlfriend?  Or boyfriend?”  She asked, carefully covering her bases.

 

“I’m don’t have either,” Jehan answered before picking one of the flowers off of the counter and began lacing in through his hair.  “These are just for me,” he added as he pulled a bobby pin out of his jeans and pinned the flower in place before picking up another and repeating.  _“And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.”_

 

Cosette felt her breath catch in her throat as the words slipped from the kind man in front of her.  “That’s one of my favourite poems,” she said almost breathlessly.  

 

“Mine too,” Jehan smiled as he placed the final flower in his hair.  In Cosette’s opinion, the addition of the flowers made the already handsome man simply stunning.  He dug into his pocket and extracted a few euros to cover the cost.  

 

Cosette accepted the payment wordlessly, her eyes fixed on Jehan.  

 

Combeferre cleared his throat, causing Jehan and Cosette to snap their attention to him.

 

“I hate to interrupt, but you know how Enjolras is,” Combeferre said to Jehan before turning his attention to Cosette.  “See you around, Cosette,” Combeferre added before leaning over to give Éponine one last kiss.

 

Jehan offered Cosette a small wave.  “It was nice to meet you,” he said softly.

 

“Likewise,” Cosette replied, nodding slightly before Combeferre and Jehan walked out of the store.

 

“Well,” Éponine started as she slid up next to Cosette to lean on the counter.  “I think someone has a little crush!”

 


End file.
